The sun is now hidden, and the moon is rising. It is time to begin our Seder: the telling of the Passover story in a special way. 

The story we tell tonight isn't a fairy tale that happened "Once upon a time..." It's a true story. As we celebrate our Seder together, we become a community -- family and friends, Jewish and Christian -- who remember this miraculous event by reciting together the story of the Exodus from Egyptian slavery.

The Seder tells the story of how we were slaves in Egypt before God led us to freedom with signs and wonders. Passover and the Exodus didn't just happen in a land far away thousands of years ago, but in every generation. Every time a Jewish family or community had to flee to avoid oppression and dangerous dictators is another version of the Exodus in another time and place. 

Every year, we journey from the cold and darkness of winter to the warmth and light of spring. Tonight, in our home and other homes, in this neighborhood and others, families and friends are beginning their Seder and lighting their candles. Together, we have created a worldwide community focused on peace, togetherness and remembrance. Our candles' light joins other candles across the world as numerous as the stars. 

The Hebrew word  Seder  means "order." Haggadah  means "telling." When we read this Haggadah during the Seder, we are retelling the story of the Exodus in a specific order.  It is a story that begins in slavery and ends in freedom, starts with sadness and ends with joy, begins in darkness and ends in light. 

Shevet achim gam yachad                                      שֶׁבֶת אָחִים גַּם יַחַד

Behold how good and how pleasant it is for people to dwell together.

Every Sabbath and Jewish holiday begins with Kiddush,  recited over one cup of wine. But on Passover, we drink four cups to match four phrases in the Bible that describe the ways God would free the Jewish people. 

God said:

" Ve-hotzeiti : I will bring you out of Egypt."

" Ve-hitzalti:  I will free you from slavery."

" Ve-ga'alti:  I will save you with My outstretched arm."

" Ve-lakahti:  I will take you to be My people."

We sanctify the name of God and proclaim the holiness of this festival of Passover. With a blessing over wine, we lift our wine, our symbol of joy; let us welcome the festival of Passover.

In unison, we say…

Our God and God of our ancestors, we thank You for enabling us to gather in friendship, to observe the Festival of Freedom. Just as for many centuries the Passover Seder has brought together families and friends to retell the events that led to our freedom, so may we be at one with Jews everywhere who perform this ancient ritual linking us with our historic past. As we relive each event in our people’s ancient struggle, and celebrate their emergence from slavery to freedom, we pray that all of us may keep alive in our hearts the love of liberty. May we dedicate our lives to the abolition of all forms of tyranny and injustice.

Reclining on our left side demonstrates our freedom from slavery. We hold our first cup of wine and we recite:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָפֶן

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Melech Ha’Olam Borey P’ree Hagafen.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.

The seder officially begins with a physical act: lighting the candles.  In Jewish tradition, lighting candles and saying a blessing over them marks a time of transition, from the day that is ending to the one that is beginning, from ordinary time to sacred time.  Lighting the candles is an important part of our Passover celebration because their flickering light reminds us of the importance of keeping the fragile flame of freedom alive in the world.

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha'olam asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Yom Tov.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has sanctified us with laws and commanded us to light the festival lights.

As we light the festival candles, we acknowledge that as they brighten our Passover table, good thoughts, good words, and good deeds brighten our days.

Wash your hands without reciting a blessing. Pass around a pitcher of water, a bowl, and a towel. Hold the pitcher in one hand and pour water over the other hand. Then reverse hands and repeat. 

Hands that are spackled with paint, sticky with jelly, or muddy from digging in the garden need to be washed. But at the seder, dressed in crisp holiday clothes, our hands are not stained or soiled. So why wash them?

Think about the cool tickle of water over your fingers. As it cleans the body, it also wakes up the mind, helping us to appreciate that no food is ordinary. A carrot stick, a leaf of lettuce, a stalk of celery--all grew and reached our table with the blessings of God and the hard work of human beings.

Usually, when we wash our hands before eating, we say a blessing. We will do that later in the seder, but now we wash without a blessing. That's one of the things that makes this night different from all other nights!